The salad has a dressing made from Red Onion Chutney and there’s a Chestnut and Sage ‘Pesto’ too, so all ingredients that might be lying around at Christmas! The pesto can also be used as a vegan pate for crackers, or as a sauce for pasta (with Kale would be nice!).
· 1 jar of red onion chutney
· Wholegrain mustard
· 3 carrots (mixed colours if you have them)
· Vinegar (any)
· Oil
· Vegetable oil
· 100g roasted and peeled chestnuts
· 1 bunch of sage leaves
· Nutritional Yeast or Parmesan (optional)
· Salt
· Pepper
· Lemon juice
· Croutons (optional)
Carrots
1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C
2. Wash and peel the carrots (or leave the skin on if they’re not muddy). Cut in half lengthways and then into quarters.
3. Drizzle the carrots with a little oil and a pinch of salt & pepper. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes until they are slightly browned and soft (but not too mushy, they need a ‘bite’ to work in a salad)
4. Alternatively, the carrots can be cooked in a frying pan with a little oil on a medium/low heat. Turn them halfway. They’ll brown on the outside and soften slightly on the inside.
Pesto
1. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil.
2. Add the chestnuts and boil for 1 minute. Remove with a sieve or slotted spoon.
3. Put the drained chestnuts in a mini food processor or blender and blend slightly. Add a drizzle of oil and the juice of ¼ of a lemon.
4. In the same pan of boiling water, blanche a small bunch of sage leaves (about 5g). Remove with a sieve or slotted spoon. Add the leaves to the chestnuts and puree.
5. Taste the pesto for acidity and add more lemon if necessary (usually about ½ lemon). Add 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast (if using) or a little bit of parmesan. Keep blending and adding splashes of olive oil until the texture is smooth.
6. The pesto will probably need more sage, so blanche a few leaves at a time before blending into the pesto. Probably about 10g of sage. Keep adding until the sage is prominent but not overpowering.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
For a chunkier texture, reserved a few chestnuts and blend them into the smooth sauce at the end.
Salad Dressing
1. Add 1 tbsp of red onion chutney and 1tsp of wholegrain mustard to a large bowl and whisk together.
2. Add 1tsp of vinegar (any, such as red wine, balsamic or raspberry vinegar). Whisk in.
3. Add a drizzle of olive oil and salt & pepper. Whisk in. The dressing will become paler as it emulsifies slightly. This dressing doesn’t need to much oil as the chutney is already thick.
4. Add washed salad leaves and coat with the dressing.
5. Add croutons for texture (if using)
Cranberries or pomegranate seeds can be added to make it extra Christmassy!